South Korea’s president failing in his bid to declare martial law leads the Financial Times, among other papers. The FT says Yoon Suk Yeol has signalled he would back down, following the country’s parliament unanimously rejecting the move. Troops had deployed to enforce the hardline former prosecutor’s declaration, which Yoon initially said was needed to “eliminate anti-state forces”, the paper also reports.
The Guardian reports that Yoon’s declaration led to “some of the tensest hours” in South Korea’s recent history. The president announced that troops, who had gone inside the national assembly building as politicians voted against martial law being imposed, would return to their barracks, the paper says.
The Sun dedicates its front page to more inappropriate behaviour allegations about MasterChef’s Gregg Wallace. The paper reports a former contestant has revealed how the BBC presenter “thrust his groin at her face three times as she crouched at an oven” – scenes the paper says were edited out of the show. Emma Phillips-Jennings also said Wallace “made a crude sexual joke about the meat”, the Sun says. Wallace has “denied any behaviour of a sexually harassing nature”, it adds.
The Daily Mail also carries an exclusive story that killer nurse Lucy Letby has been interviewed by police over the “alleged murders of more babies”. The paper says Letby was “quizzed under caution” over more unexpected deaths at the Countess of Chester Hospital. The Mail says the former neonatal nurse was also questioned about deaths at Liverpool Women’s Hospital when she was a student, for what it says is “believed to be the first time”. Cheshire Police confirmed Letby had been interviewed, the paper says, but the force “would not say exactly when the interview took place” or how many specific cases were being investigated.
Fewer people will be sentenced to jail after a “damning report” exposed the extent of prison overcrowding, according to the lead story in the Times. The paper says the changes to sentencing will “end short custodial sentences” and ensure more people are punished in the community with measures like house arrest and electronic tagging. The government was “prompted to make changes after the spending watchdog” found that prison expansion plans would fall far short by more than 12,000 places by 2027, the Times reports.
Exam board Edexcel will hold GCSE exams for two popular courses, history and business studies, on computers from 2027, the i reports. The paper has been told by the Pearson board that if there is sufficient demand then most GCSEs and A Levels could be taken digitally by 2030.
The Metro’s lead story is on the Princess of Wales taking a “big step” on the road to returning to full public duties, following her cancer treatment. Kate and Prince William were there to welcome the Emir of Qatar for his visit, joining a carriage procession and hosting a lunch at Buckingham Palace, the paper says.
New Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has pledged to put passengers rather than bosses and shareholders back at the the heart of Britain’s railways, according to the Daily Mirror. Alexander has announced the timetable for renationalising railway firms, the paper says – adding that South Western Railways will be the first to switch in May.
The Daily Telegraph has an exclusive report that more Whitehall civil servants are working from home since Labour formed a government. The paper says attendance rates at 13 government departments are down in the last three months, with the Treasury, Housing Department and the Ministry of Justice among those with the fewest staff in the office.
The Times highlights what it calls the “damning” report by the National Audit Office, warning about a possible shortfall of more than 12,000 prison places in England and Wales by 2027. The paper says ministers have been prompted to make changes to sentencing, ending short custodial terms and making more use of house arrest and electronic tagging, after the spending watchdog found the existing prison expansion scheme was “unrealistic” and “overambitious”.
The government says office occupancy levels were higher between July and September than in the same period last year under the Conservatives. The Telegraph says the audit is the first part of a series by the paper looking at work-from-home policies across the civil service, police, town halls, the BBC and the NHS amid growing concerns about public sector efficiency.
With the headline “Full Steam Ahead”, the Daily Mirror celebrates the renationalisation of the railways after the transport secretary, Heidi Alexander, set out the timetable for the first operators to return to public ownership. South Western Railways will be the first to make the switch in May – followed by c2c and Greater Anglia.
The Mirror’s leader column says the change is an achievement the government “should be proud of”, arguing that saving millions of pounds in franchise fees and clamping down on waste, delays, cancellations and confused ticketing “will all benefit long-suffering passengers”.
